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Jamie Chung and Jena Malone sign on to Zack Snyder's ("300", "Watchmen") next film "Sucker Punch". The film is set in the 50's, and follows a young woman unfairly thrown into a mental institution by her "wicked step-father", who imagines an alternate reality to hide from the pain. She then plans to escape the imaginary world, but has to steal five objects first, all while avoiding being caught by "a vile man". Whoa, I have no idea what that means but it sounds awesome.
Dimension films picks up "Kristy". The film is being compared to "The Strangers" and "Last House on the Left", and deals with a deserted college campus being besieged by a group of violent intruders.
Finally, after months of hearing about mundane, meaningless scoops from the set of Rob Zombie's "H2", comes word that we'll be seeing a trailer on Youtube this Friday. Rest assured we'll be on it when it lands.
Jonathan Skaech is highly positive about his "From a Buick 8" script, and says that Stephen King (the original author of the book) loves it. Unfortunately because of the economy, financing any film is difficult right now, but he hopes that it will go in front of cameras this fall. As for stars? He claims they "are going after big names right now". Hopefully we'll hear some more news about this adaptation soon.


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CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — New Hampshire has changed key rates to entice medical providers to participate in a managed care network for Medicaid clients currently stalled for lack of providers.
State Health and Human Services Commissioner Nicholas Toumpas said Tuesday that the agency adjusted the rates to give three managed care companies under contract with the state more flexibility in negotiating with providers.
Toumpas believes moving to a managed care system will not only save the state money but in the long run improve the health of the state's Medicaid participants. It could also be an important factor in the state's ability to handle an expansion to Medicaid under the federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), if a state Medicaid expansion measure passes.
Hospitals, mental health clinics and other providers have refused to participate in the state's managed care system because of low reimbursement levels for treating Medicaid patients.
Toumpas said he has been calling the heads of the state's hospitals and is hopeful the rate changes will be enough for them to participate.
"The rates are at a level to provide greater flexibility to the managed care operators to negotiate with the providers," said Toumpas.
The current budget, written by Republicans, also cut state hospital aid for all but a handful of critical access hospitals. The 10 largest hospitals then sued over Medicaid rates, which complicated efforts to negotiate over managed care.
Gov. Maggie Hassan, D, is backing a budget that would restore about half of the $200 million in aid cut in the last two years — but only if the hospitals pay taxes on their revenues at much higher amounts than the Senate believes is realistic. The state parcels out the hospital tax revenue to pay medical providers, for general state spending and as aid to hospitals.
The combination of low rates and the aid cut stalled negotiations over hospitals joining the managed care system until recently, according to Toumpas and state Medicaid Director Katie Dunn, who announced the rate changes at a Senate Finance Committee meeting.
The state had hoped to put the system into place during the last budget cycle and counted on saving $15 million from the switch from paying on a fee-for-service basis. Now, it appears unlikely the system will be up and running on July 1 as hoped, which means some of $23 million in savings the agency hopes to get in the budget for the two years starting in July won't be realized.
Toumpas said his agency would like to have the system in place by the end of the year to handle the expansion of Medicaid under the PPACA. The House budget that passed last month includes money to administer the expansion, but the Senate is controlled by Republicans who are more skeptical of the federal government's long-term funding promises.
"We're buying into something pretty big here," Senate Finance Chairman Chuck Morse told Dunn.
Toumpas said the state can't feasibly expand Medicaid under the federal health care overhaul law without a managed care program in place to handle the 35,000 to 50,000 in estimated new clients.
The expansion would add anyone under age 65 who earns up to 138 percent of federal poverty guidelines, which is about $15,000 for a single adult.
A report commissioned by the state health department estimates that expanding Medicaid would boost enrollment by 58,000 people by 2020, and together with PPACA's other provisions, would reduce the number of uninsured residents from roughly 170,000 to 71,000. The report estimates that expansion could cost the state $85 million during that period, but the state would get $2.5 billion in federal funding.
See also:
- Sanders: Make more primary care doctors
- Walgreen clinics to handle chronic illness care
- Calif. bills would let optometrists, nurses do more

subset: commoncrawl


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Silver Paisley Skulls Seafoam/Clear 27oz Chaser
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Designed in Nashville,Tennessee responsibly made in China


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Astrid Söderbergh Widding, President of Stockholm University
Stockholm University is one of Europe's leading universities in one of the world's most dynamic capitals. We are the largest research university in Sweden, with nearly 2,000 professors, lecturers and researchers, and a total research funding of more than 255 million euro.
In addition to our research profile areas, we also pride ourselves on our national and international collaborations which focus on harnessing the knowledge created here to improve society and the world.
Here we present what you need to know about moving to Sweden to work and live in Stockholm. If you have already been offered a position, please contact your department coordinator on specific matters. We hope to welcome you soon!
Recent arrivals from three continents and four different fields talk about collegiality and research environment at Stockholm University
Stockholm University in the capital of Sweden is characterised by its openness, innovation and collaboration.
Stockholm is an international centre for research and innovation known for its natural setting, rich history, and high quality of life.


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From Tires to Taxidermy
Before getting downtown today, I went to visit with the students at Buffalo School 33 during their fourth annual Career Fair. Marshall, shown in the picture with me is a huge Bisons fan and welcomed me to the event.
The students arrived with great questions and a thirst for knowledge from everyone they spoke to this morning. Among the more credentialed presenters included servicemen, doctors and lawyers. Oh yeah, and the guy that watches baseball games for a living.
I had my own education from a few tables too. I saw how tires are made and got the closest to a skunk I have ever been, without a dose of "Prairie Perfume!"
The Herd return downtown tonight and a few students gave me questions to ask Bisons Manager Ken Oberkfell in our pregame conversation. Coverage starts at 5:35 p.m.
Excellent job by the students and staff to organize, execute an event in great detail and with TONS of enthusiasm.
1 Comment
Ben Wagner should come to BPS #33 again with maybe Mr. Bisbing. GO HERD!


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International University Lifestyle survey 2017
Sodexo has provided catering, accommodation and facilities management services to the higher education sector for nearly 50 years and partners with more than 1,000 universities in 32 countries. As a strategic partner to our university clients we focus on improving student experience through integrated services that promote quality of life.
Sodexo has conducted a UK University Lifestyle Survey biennially since April 2004, identifying and tracking trends in key non-academic areas of university life as experienced by undergraduate students. For the first time in its 14 year history, in response to a more global higher education sector, we have conducted the survey on a worldwide basis, polling over 4,000 students in six countries around the world (China, India, Italy, Spain, the UK and the USA).


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It's all about Europe. With earnings season largely over and the United States distracted by the upcoming presidential election, the only news likely to move the markets over the next month will be coming out of Europe.
Late this week, the European Central Bank will be having a press conference that many market watchers hope will shed a little light on ECB President Mario Draghi's long-delayed bond purchase program. And less than a week later, Germany's constitutional court is scheduled to deliver a ruling that could single-handedly torpedo the entire European project.
Like it or not, the fate of the world economy depends on a ragtag collection of technocrats, politicians, and wonkish legal experts. As heroes go, they are not quite on par with the Avengers or the Super Friends, but they are unfortunately all we have.
Let's take a look at the major players and the roles they have to play in the weeks ahead.
#1. Mario Draghi, European Central Bank President
The man who claimed he would "do whatever it takes" to save the euro and stated with rhetorical flourish, "believe me, it will be enough," is the single most important person right now in the Eurozone crisis. As the guardian of the ECB's proverbial printing press, he's the only person with a big enough "bazooka" to blast confidence back into the market.
The buoyancy in global equity and bond markets over the past two months is largely a bet that Draghi will deliver on his promise. You can bet that every sentence in his Thursday press conference will be picked apart with a fine-tooth comb for clues as to his plans.
The growing consensus, based on comments by Draghi and others, is that the ECB will buy virtually unlimited amounts of troubled-country bonds in the secondary markets once the countries in question formally request aid from the Eurozone bailout funds and submit to any conditions for reform or budget austerity (even if some of the conditions are symbolic).
#2. Jens Weidmann, President of the Bundesbank
But Mr. Draghi will not use a single euro to buy periphery country debt if Jens Wiedmann has anything to say about it.
Weidmann is president of the German Bundesbank, the single most powerful national bank within the Eurozone system, and a leading member of the ECB's governing council. He's also the most vocal high-profile critic of Draghi's bond-buying plans, arguing that such operations are an illegal funding of member states' budgets and a major overstepping of the ECB's mandate.
Sure, Mario Draghi can act over Weidmann's opposition. But given the Bundesbank's influence within the system, it won't be particularly fun or easy. Much of Draghi's stalling in recent months has been due to his need to get the Bundesbank on board. His success or failure on this count remains to be seen.
#3. Angela Merkel, German Chancellor
Next on the list is Germany's iron lady, Chancellor Angela Merkel. As the elected leader of the most powerful economy in the Eurozone—and the one country strong enough to backstop the assorted bailout schemes—Merkel is second only to Draghi in importance to the Eurozone right now.
Ms. Merkel has two very different voices whispering into her ear. From one side, she hears the pleas of her fellow European heads of government asking for assistance in the cause of the greater European good. But from the other side she has the stern voice of German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble demanding austerity as both a means to an end and the end itself.
The result has been predictable: paralysis and indecision. Merkel's heart tells her to support Draghi's attempts to do "whatever it takes" while her conscience—and her angry voters—tells her that this only rewards bad behavior and that the only force that will incentivize Europe's problem states to get their acts together is the constant threat of bond-market meltdown.
As an elected political leader (rather than an appointed technocrat like Draghi and Weidmann), Merkel has a responsibility to explain to her citizens what is at stake, and on this count she has most assuredly failed. The sooner the chancellor learns how to actually lead rather than follow the often contradictory whims of her voters, the sooner we will be to finding an end to this crisis.
#4. Mariano Rajoy, Spanish Prime Minister
After campaigning for the job for three election cycles, one might wonder if Mr. Rajoy regrets taking the job of prime minister. It has, no doubt, proven to be a thankless one. With roughly a quarter of the Spanish population out of work and forced government spending cuts starting to bite, Mariano Rajoy is not a popular man in his home country.
As the leader of the country currently at the center of the crisis, Rajoy is one of the key players. But unlike his German counterpart Angela Merkel, Rajoy is not in much of a position to actually act at the moment. He deserves credit for forcing through deeply unpopular austerity measures and negotiating quite favorable terms in the initial stages of the bank bailout talks. But in the end, his country's fate lies in the hands of the ECB and Germany.
The key question for Rajoy will be if (or more likely when) he will formally request a state bailout. The delicate negotiations that follow will determine whether Spain and the Eurozone are stabilized or whether the entire system rips apart at the seams. We shall certainly see whether the mild-mannered Rajoy is up to the task.
#5. Andreas Voßkuhle, President of the German Federal Constitutional Court
Most readers will have never heard of Andreas Voßkuhle, and if there are no major complications on September 12, he may remain all but anonymous for the rest of his life, at least outside of Germany. But if his becomes a household name, you will know that something went terribly, terribly wrong.
September 12 is the date on which the German court will decide whether Germany's participation in the Eurozone bailout facilities is legal under Germany's constitution, known as the "Basic Law" (see "What Keeps Me Awake at Night").
Most observers expect the court to more or less toe Angela Merkel's line and acquiesce to the Eurozone bailout facilities, with perhaps a few conditions and caveats added in for good measure.
But if Mr. Voßkuhle and his fellow judges rule that German participation is unconstitutional, then two years' worth of painful negotiations go out the window and we go back to square one. I would see a global meltdown on par with post-Lehman 2008 as being virtually guaranteed at that point, and I do not believe that the euro would survive in any form that we would recognize.
I doubt whether Mr. Voßkuhle wants that on his conscience, and I am betting that the court rules favorably. But you can bet that I'll be sitting on the edge of my chair when the ruling is announced.
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Be it Christmas, birthday, anniversary or whatever other holiday or celebration, a good gift should be something useful or unique which will not be sitting in the back of the closet for the rest of its days and should cause a visibly positive reaction on the person's face.
This being a swimming blog, I've put together a list of some ideas for anybody trying to improve their swimming. So, if you have someone in your life who deserves a gift from you and is an avid open water swimmer, just a beginner trying to make a dent into a swimming career, a wannabe triathlete with his/her mind set on the next Ironman competition, or simply someone who loves to swim, this list of swimming gift ideas is for you.
1) Exer-Genie - this is a great compact little gadget which let's you have a full body workout wherever you are.
More importantly though, in terms of swimming, it is very useful for practicing your high elbow catch (early vertical forearm) without the hassle of worrying about other aspects of your stroke.
It works in a similar way like stretch cords, with the difference that you can maintain a constant tension and you can practice the actual freestyle stroke pattern one arm at a time.
In my opinion, every serious swimmer or a triathlete should have one of these and incorporate them into their workouts and off-season training. Exer-Genie falls into the very practical and useful category as far as gifts go.
2) ShinFin Leg fins - these fins have been on the market for a while and I have mentioned them before in one of my Christmas swimming gadget ideas posts, but they don't get the press they should, so here I go again, trying to make a case.
If you struggle with learning the proper flutter (freestyle) kicking technique, by wearing these fins, I guarantee you that you will grasp the concept and change your technique in just a few sessions.
I've used them on many occasion with beginner swimmers and the results were just astonishing. After one or two lessons, the kicking propulsion improved drastically and most of them are able to kick out of the hip rather than the knee. I just love it when products just work :).
With this gift, you are definitely going to relieve some frustration and stress for the person who will use them.
3) Corsuit - having a strong core is a must for a successful swimming advancement. Why not have a little help with this swim gadget.
The Corsuit serves as a sort of a casket for your midsection. It gives you a constant real-time feedback on your body posture in the water and helps you, for example, maintain a flatter back, so your streamline is as smooth as it can be.
The Corsuit will be one of those gifts which will cause a bit of a stir as it is quite unique and not very well known on the market.
|keeping the core engaged
4) Palm Paddles - are probably the world's smallest paddles, but also one of the most useful.
Their contour desensitizes your palm, so you do not grab so much water and are more focused on using your forearm, therefore making the front quadrant of your stroke much more effective. Palm Paddles would make a very useful, but also a cute little gift :).
|Paddle fits into your palm
5) Aquaviz mask - this multipurpose prescription lens is so universal, you can use the same lens in your swimming goggles, skiing or snowboarding mask, sunglasses, paintball mask, snowmobile mask etc. etc. You name it and you can use it for it.
If you are not into wearing contacts or don't want to buy expensive custom prescription mask/goggles/glasses for every single sports activity you do, Aquaviz is for you.
So, go out there and find out the prescription values of your loved one and get them an Aquaviz, so they can see clearly wherever they go.
|The prescription lenses wizard - the Aquaviz
6) Pebble Smartwatch - with its smart capabilities, you will no longer have to connect your watch to a computer to upload your swim data, it does it by itself through syncing with your Android phone on your way home from the pool.
So by the time you get to your cosy destination to sit on the sofa and to check your stats, they are already there. With already ready integration to many exercise platforms such as this Swimming training and workout service from Swim.com, it makes it a perfect gift for any avid swimmer. The modern gift for a modern swimmer.
7) Xmetrics computer - if you want to go a one step further, Xmetrics is the device of the future.
The device has a new take on what a swimming computer should be like.
It can provide an audio feedback in real-time. Apart from the usual stats, it can, for example, tell you how fast your turns are and I am sure that is just the beginning.
If you ever wanted to give a cutting-edge technology gift, this is it. Let's start the "swimming without a watch" revolution together.
8) 360swim SaferSwimmer - I love this product because it has all the things that a good product should have.
Quality and thoughtful design, it is useful and practical, well priced and it helps people stay safer in the open water.
If the person you are buying a gift for swims in open water (be it a lake, sea, pond), with this gift you show them you care about their safety, but you also are thoughtful enough to get them something that they will actually use.
You might just save a life with this gift or open new horizons or someone who is afraid to go the open water swimming route on their own.
|360swim SaferSwimmer
Alright, there you have my list of the gift ideas for your fellow swimmers or triathletes.
If you do have some experiences with any of these, please do share them in the comments below, Facebook or on other social channels, so others can also benefit from your experience.
Have a great holiday season, Christmas, birthday, anniversary or whatever special occasion you are going to celebrate. And don't forget, keep on swimming :).


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There are no rules, except to have fun and explore.
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If you join our hop and follow our blogs, We will follow you back.


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The Candy House sells tasty treats in southwest Missouri
The Candy House sells tasty treats in southwest Missouri
The Candy House sells tasty treats in southwest Missouri
Jarrett Medlin
Jarrett Medlin
Jarrett Medlin
Taffy, truffles,
toffee, divinity. Caramels, peanut brittle, cherry cordials, chocolate
nut clusters. Dark chocolate, white chocolate, milk chocolate, sugar-free
Terry Hicklin knows
them all. He knows no recipes are more finicky. He knows a degree
too hot or too cold can prevent divinity from being divine and peanut
brittle from being brittle. He knows every possible element — humidity,
melting temperature, cocoa content, creams, milk, sugar, timing — any
and every possible consideration can deter his candy from perfection. And this,
he knows, is what separates Candy House Gourmet Chocolate from the competition.
is so much harder to make than other types of food because there are so many
ways to mess it up," he says. "It's such a precise
Apparently, Terry
has found the recipe for success.
Since buying the
Candy House in 1999, the business has grown 500 percent. The confectionary
company now produces several hundred thousand pounds of hand-dipped
chocolate each year. Besides the original Candy House location, Terry's
added three retail stores and a factory in southwest Missouri. Still,
the company continues to expand.
"It all goes
back to quality and service," Terry says. "We
pride ourselves on our service to the customers. And we get notes every
day about how great the chocolate is."
At the Candy House
Chocolate Factory in Joplin, Terry is right at home. He spends
his days surrounded by kettles of chocolate, conveyer belts of
candy and boxes of sweets.
Every day, he continues a never-ending quest to improve his chocolate
and candy.
Terry refuses to
mix in additives, which provide a longer shelf life but take away
from the taste. He constantly refines old recipes and tweaks new
ones. Caramel apples, chocolate-covered strawberries, the Missouri
Walking Stick (a pretzel rod dipped in caramel, rolled in pecans
and drizzled in milk, white and dark chocolate), and heart-healthy
chocolates are just a few of the bestselling products he's added
over the years. That's in addition to the original recipes.
still don't think there's any better English toffee in
the world — or caramels," he says. "If you take a
good center and coat it with good chocolate, you're going
to have success."
Terry ensures every
person who walks through the door at one of his shops is met with
a smile and a sample of his locally renowned, hand-dipped chocolate.
lot of our decisions have come from listening to customers," he
These decisions
have helped the Candy House come a long way over the past three decades.
Terry ever thought about candymaking, there was Richardson's
Candy House. In 1970, Don and Peggy Richardson opened the original
candy house in a two-story white-rock building in Redings Mill,
a village five miles south of Joplin. Peggy's mother, Dolly
Smith, had owned chocolate companies in Florida and drove up to
Missouri while in her '80s to teach them the recipes. Where
she got those recipes, the same ones used today, Terry
doesn't know.
For the next 30
years, the company remained pretty much the same. Every batch was
hand-stirred by the owners in a 12-pound amount. The Richardsons
never hired a full-time production person despite a booming business.
Finally, the family sold the Candy House in 1994. Five years later,
it was back on the market.
In 1999, Terry
was looking to leave his job as a food broker and run a fishing resort
in Branson. He would have spent his golden years stringing poles,
fixing toilets and doing maintenance on cabins.
"That would
have been the worst mistake of my life because I'm not
a handyman," he says. "I literally
would have been a fish out of water."
the deal fell through and Terry found himself
scanning the classified section of the Springfield News-Leader.
That's when he saw it: "FOR
told my wife, Pat, 'Something's
wrong. This is making money,'" he
recalls. The next day, the Hicklins drove to
Redings Mill to see Richardson's
Candy House for themselves. Three days later,
they signed a contract and became the new owners.
was overwhelmed during the first year. The
homemade chocolate required long hours of
stirring and standing over hot kettles. On top of it,
he didn't
understand the chemistry of candy.
bought the recipes, but I had no idea how
they worked," he
says. "Getting into it, I had no
idea what a precise science it is."
Terry decided to go back to school — candy
school. He signed up for a 15-day school
in Erie, Penn., sponsored by Retail Confectioners
International, an organization consisting
of more than 400 chocolate and candy
retailers around the nation. The organization
hosts the schools only once every two
years and accepts just 24 students.
year, Terry was fortunate enough to
be selected and learn from the top candymakers
in the United States and England. At
the school, he spent three days learning
about the chemistry of everything from
candy canes to creams, before moving
on to the cooking process and equipment.
Terry returned to Missouri, he had a vision. While still using
the original recipes, he bought two automated
kettles and a chocolate enrober that
made the process six times faster.
A year later, he opened a store in
Carthage, then in Springfield. Finally,
in 2004, the Hicklins built the Candy
House Chocolate Factory in Joplin,
where demand has already outgrown supply.
"We have
more room for cooking, but we could use twice as much space for storage," he
Much of the Candy
House's recent growth is due to orders
from corporate clients, including Sam's Club. The lucrative
partnership with the warehouse retail chain came about when a
food buyer tasted the chocolate during a road show in 2004.
buyer said it's the best chocolate he's ever tasted," says
Terry. "And he's
tried candy from all over the
The buyer suggested
selling the chocolate on
the company's Web site, www.samsclub.com.
Terry wisely took his advice
and online sales have doubled
over the past two years.
currently have as much,
if not more, going out the back
door as the front door," he
says. "People are
here from 6:30 in the morning
until 10:30 at night. It's
a great tribute to the
As for the
future, Terry predicts
even sweeter days. "I
don't see
anything but an increase
in customer quality and
service," he says
with a generous smile.
To learn more, call (417) 623-7171 or visit www.candyhouse.net.


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The five-year eGovernment Action Plan 2011-2015 presented by the European Commission today (see IP/10/1718) builds on experience gained with the 2006 European eGovernment Action Plan (see IP/06/523) and in particular on the results of several ongoing EU large-scale pilot projects. For example, STORK fosters the EU-wide interoperability of electronic identities whilst procurement and communication with governments have become simpler with PEPPOL and SPOCS. These innovative projects centre on the needs of citizens and businesses and make life easier through better access to more efficient and cost effective public services.
The implementation of the 2006 European eGovernment Action Plan saw governments exchange good practices and resulted in a number of large-scale pilot projects. STORK, PEPPOL, and SPOCS are three examples of these major initiatives set up over the last years. They harness information and communication technologies (ICT) to develop concrete solutions for EU-wide services which meet the needs of citizens and businesses. These projects do not impose a single solution, but build on existing technical ones and on available infrastructures, interlinking Member States' systems so that they can "talk to each other".
Despite considerable progress made in recent years, more effort is needed to increase overall usage and reinforce user empowerment and interoperability. The new eGovernment Action Plan proposes concrete measures so that by 2015 it should become, for example, much more convenient to apply for and access social security and health benefits, or receive pension rights from one EU country to another. For businesses, it should be even easier to open a branch or subsidiary abroad using online systems or provide services and goods anywhere in Europe.
STORK - electronic identity for easier access to public services
Several barriers to free movement still exist in the digital Single Market. For example, it is not easy to access online public services while working or living in another country.
The STORK (Secure Identity Across Borders Linked) pilot project makes the cross-border use of electronic identification possible. As identification and authentication of persons are essential for the security of electronic transactions, the project aims to build levels of trust amongst Member States and respective services by ensuring interoperability.
It aims to allow citizens and businesses to access eGovernment services in any Member State they live in or travel to. For example, the pilot project gives foreign students access to online services offered by universities (e.g. online enrolment, access to online courses or tutorials, access to computing infrastructures, etc). in five countries (Austria, Estonia, Italy, Portugal and Spain).
The STORK activities on eID are also relevant for other pilot projects and initiatives.
PEPPOL - towards cross-border public eProcurement
Many EU countries use electronic procurement (eProcurement) to make tendering procedures of the public sector simpler and more efficient. However, these solutions are often implemented as separate islands within Member States.
PEPPOL (Pan-European Public Procurement Online) aims to enable the connection of existing eProcurement systems and allow entrepreneurs to perform the full public procurement cycle online, across the EU, with the participant countries.
For both businesses and governments, this means easier communication and more transparency, but also larger markets and cost savings. As governments are the largest buyers of goods and services in the EU (in 2009, 19.4% of the Union's GDP), this is an important step for the Single Market's competitiveness.
SPOCS - next generation Points of Single Contact
In December 2006, the European Parliament and the Council adopted the Services Directive. Implementing this Directive called for setting up 'Points of Single Contact' (PSC), which act as intermediaries between service providers and national public administrations. These "one-stop shops" fulfil essentially two functions: the completion of administrative procedures online (for example, company registration) and information dissemination.
The SPOCS (Simple Procedures Online for Cross-border Services) pilot project aims to enhance the quality of these procedures, with more interoperable and user-friendly systems, making it easier for businesses to offer their services abroad.
In relation to cross-border use of electronic identity and signatures validation, SPOCS will benefit from the results achieved by the STORK (electronic identity) and PEPPOL (electronic procurement) projects.
To find out more:
STORK (Secure Identity Across Borders Linked)
PEPPOL (Pan-European Public Procurement Online)
SPOCS (Simple Procedures Online for Cross-border Services)
Meer over ...


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Had a somewhat crazy morning. This long exposure at an odd angle captures the essence of the commute pretty well.
We've got a lot of stuff going on at KC-Bike World Headquarters this week -- Not the least of which is the landlord sending out the exterminator in an attempt to thwart the Brown Recluse Spider infestation that we're dealing with. For those not in the know, Brown Recluses are pretty much the only spider around this region that you need to really worry about. Sure, spiders are creepy crawly but most of them are actually pretty good guys. Brown recluse bites are poisonous, and occasionally result in a festering wound that won't heal, sometimes leading to gangrene, requiring amputation or deep tissue surgery. Sounds like a blast, right?
Some of you may have seen one or two recluses. Well, we've been trapping these little suckers BY THE DOZEN. From babies that could stand on the head of a straight pin to grand-poppas that can span an inch-and-a-half, I've got insect glue traps LOADED with them. Other tenants have the same problem, so I'm glad the landlord is doing something about it.
Well, that means I had to do some last minute cleaning-up stuff this morning to prepare for the Bug Man. I got out late, was rushed on the road, and didn't get breakfast before I rolled out. Bad combo.
Random Tunage:
DJ Encore - I See Right Through To You (Tandu Dub)
Flobots - Handlebars
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
Had a somewhat crazy morning. This long exposure at an odd angle captures the essence of the commute pretty well.
9 comments:
- MRMacrum said...
Never had to deal with any Brown Recluse's that I know of. But I hear they are right nasty. And like you say, most spiders are indeed good guys. But there are always a few upon whioch the whole crew's rep hangs.
- August 26, 2008 8:49 AM
- Noah said...
I actually have a live one that I trapped in our bath tub. He hasn't eaten in a month and he's still alive. I just keep it dark and humid in his little container. I should probably find a silverfish or something. It's kind of odd having a poisonous pet spider, but I do. I haven't bothered naming him yet -- and it is a male, you can tell from the palps.
- August 26, 2008 9:01 AM
- Paul in Minneapolis said...
AHHH, I lived in a house with brown Recluse and black widows. I think it was a recluse that bit my fore arm, it took many weeks to heal. That was in my early 30's, too.
- August 26, 2008 9:18 AM
Yeah, Brown Recluse = Bad. Good luck in getting rid of them. Here at my house I've seen my fair share of Black Widows. None in the house but creepy none-the-less. I probably see more snakes than widows though.
Our neighbors are moving and she came over Sunday to tell me she had a turtle in her front flower bed and asked if I could help her with it. What? Why would she need my help? When I saw it, I understood. This thing was big and was buried under a bush. We got him out with a rake and discovered this guy was a BIG (probably close to ten pounds) snapping turtle. I had saw one several months ago crossing the road a few blocks from our house but had forgotten about it. This might have been him. This guy was strong, fast, and pissed! We trapped him with a plastic milk carton, flipped it over, and took him to the pond down the street. I was seriously afraid of losing a finger.
- August 26, 2008 9:48 AM
- Noah said...
Snappers are NEVER pleasant. With a brown recluse, a bite has a CHANCE to maybe rot off your finger or leave a huge, nasty scar. In reality, most brown recluse bites just get irritated and aren't often discernible as a poisonous bite. Only some of them do the necrosis thing.
With a snapper, though, one good solid chomp WILL take flesh with it, instantly. And they have a freakishly long strike. *Shudder*
- August 26, 2008 9:51 AM
I had never realized how fast snappers are. I had him pinned down by holding him down on the ground with my hand on his shell (near the back) and the speed with which he was snapping was amazing. You almost couldn't follow it it was so fast. And strong too. To get him flipped over into the milk carton we had to wedge a shovel between him and the ground because he was using his claws to hold himself down. Once he was in the plastic carton he bit the down on the edge and didn't let go until we dumped him out. Once we did dump him out he just stared us down for about a minute and then SPRINTED for the water. You wouldn't think a turtle could move that fast. Man, I should turn this into a blog post. HAHA!
- August 26, 2008 10:00 AM
- Noah said...
Do it! As you've seen, there's nothing wrong with a little "not so bikey" content on a bicycle site.
- August 26, 2008 10:02 AM
- MRMacrum said...
I ran into the snapper you will find at the bottom of this post - http://thefilecabinet.blogspot.com/2008/06/amercican-moving-adventure.html.
She was most likely crossing the road to lay eggs. I took pictures and came up with a unique way to get her off the road. Two wheeled dollies have a myriad of uses.
- August 26, 2008 11:57 AM
- Tom said...
I remember seeing a huge snapper- bigger than a manhole cover. It just lumbered along until my brothers and I tried to give it some food. Then BAMM! It hit what we put in front of it so fast we were all stunned. We didn't mess with it after that.
- August 26, 2008 12:06 PM
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Pro-Life Bills Stymied
Pro-lifers made great strides in state legislatures this year. Now, pro-abortion advocates are attempting to reverse those gains by using the court system.
TOPEKA, Kan. — Until this spring, abortion advocates could count on one of two checks built into the legislative system to slow the rising tide of state pro-life laws. They could rely on either pro-abortion governors or at least one of the legislative houses having a pro-abortion majority.
But that strategy broke down as the Republican onslaught of last November swept through both legislatures and governors' mansions, resulting in more than 60 pro-life bills making it onto the statute books across the U.S. in the 2011 legislative sessions.
Now, abortion advocates are turning to courts.
In Kansas, a leading pro-life state, one federal judge has issued a temporary injunction, putting a hold on one enactment diverting Title X federal family-planning funding to public clinics and hospitals and away from private agencies that provide abortions. A second federal judge has issued a temporary injunction delaying the enforcement of new, more demanding standards that would have shut down two of the state's three abortion clinics.
Their peers in other federal courts have issued injunctions against similar laws in Texas, South Dakota, Indiana and North Carolina.
Planned Parenthood's CEO for Kansas and Mid-Missouri, Peter Brownlie, charged that the state "continues to waste precious taxpayer resources on expensive private attorneys and other legal expense in their relentless effort to deny thousands of low-income women and families access to essential health services." The state has appealed.
Kansans for Life's legislative director Kathy Ostrowski says the injunction against the new licensing regulations is a weak one, based solely on the clinics' claim they need more time to measure up to the new standards. As for the diversion of Title X funds, it has been carefully crafted to avoid challenges faced in other states, which specifically denied such funds to organizations that provide abortions.
"The Kansas provision," said Ostrowski, "simply said that Title X funds for family-planning education should go first to public clinics and hospitals." While the judge accepted Planned Parenthood's argument that the move restricted a woman's constitutional right to choose her medical-service provider and caused immediate and irreparable harm, Ostrowski is sure that wiser heads in higher courts will disregard these arguments. Instead, she expects the state government's right to decide with whom it will do business to be upheld.
Fetal Pain
The recent injunctions have not touched Kansas' new fetal-suffering law, pioneered last year by Nebraska and now enacted in half a dozen states. Fetal-pain laws ban abortions after 20 weeks, when the developing fetus can feel pain, according to new but hotly contested medical findings. This advances the bar several weeks from that set by Roe v. Wade, which said abortions cannot be banned before the fetus is viable. At the end of August, Idaho's fetal-pain law was challenged as unconstitutional by a woman who was briefly charged with receiving an illegal abortion.
But according to Emily Bazelon, senior research scholar in law at Yale Law School and a columnist at Slate and The New York Times, this may be a strategic mistake for abortion advocates. Fetal-pain laws affect very few pregnancies. Their real purpose, like that of the partial-birth abortion ban, she says, is to shift public opinion by depicting the pro-abortion side as willing to inflict pain on tiny fetuses.
"Only 1.5% of abortions occur late in the second trimester," Bazelon said. "And in three of the five states that recently banned the procedure, no doctor provided late-term abortions anyway. In other words, these particular restrictions are largely symbolic. If the abortion-rights groups were to sue, they would risk returning to dangerous political ground."
Others disagree. They see the fetal-pain issue as a way to significantly roll back the fetal age where total abortion bans can be enacted.
Bazelon warns that the pro-life side is not only passing emotive laws as "bait" to attract pro-abortion challenges, but has adopted the "clever incremental strategy" of reducing abortions through many minor restrictions with a "devastating" cumulative effect.
She urges the pro-abortion side to be equally selective, opposing those laws that restrict women's access to health services, including insurance.
Walter Olson of the Cato Institute's Center for Constitutional Studies says Bazelon's advice may be an easier-said-than-done case. The current plethora of pro-life legislation is the result of several long-term developments, not least of which is the cultivation of the young, conservative legal minds that are now drafting laws tailored to exploit the U.S. Supreme Court's latest decisions and to defend them in trial.
"The liberals have had this kind of sophisticated legal advice all along. Now, conservatives are getting it too," said Olson, citing many conservative legal foundations which sprang up after Roe, such as the Federalist Society, to encourage the education of conservative lawyers and legal thinking.
Conservatives initially spent much of their energy lamenting the trend of judges to become legislators through legally groundless interpretations of the U.S. Constitution. Now they are imitating techniques pioneered by the American Civil Liberties Union and other liberal organizations by passing multiple versions of the same law in many states.
"The less-appealing cases can be dropped so that the case with the most sympathetic circumstances for your side actually moves up," Olson said.
The assumption now, he says, is that since the U.S. Supreme Court has already gone out on a limb by issuing decisions that are not based on the Constitution, the high court is even more susceptible to public opinion and popular appeal.
For more coverage, go to NCRegister.com. Steve Weatherbe writes from Victoria, British Columbia.
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- Oct. 9-22, 2011


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Tim's Fourth MLB Anniversary (9/12/2010)
On Sunday, September 12, 2010, Tim and I headed out of the house early in the morning en route to Tim's Fourth MLB Anniversary game. I had debated in my head for months about which game we would attend. It was between Marlins @ Nationals or Phillies @ Mets. We're more interested in the Phillies and Mets. But we already saw the Phillies on Tim's First Anniversary. So, we hopped in the car and headed south to Washington, D.C. for a date with the Marlins, Nationals, and Tim's "Poppy" (his materal grandfather, who I call Kevin).
In addition to all the excitement surrounding it being Tim's MLB Anniversary game, we had the opportunity to do something special at this game. If we could manage to get two baseballs at this game, Tim and I would hit the 100 baseball mark on the fourth anniversary of Tim's first baseball (which was given to Tim by Blue Jays September call-up, Davis Romero).
It was a drizzly morning. We arrived right as the gates opened (2.5 hours before game time), but there was no batting practice. When we arrived, there was no action on the field at all. But a Marlins pitcher was throwing in the bullpen out in LF.
I had no clue who he was. But I noticed he had his name stitched on his glove, so I zoomed in…
…to find out it was Alex Sanabia.
As we watched Sanabia throwing under the supervision of his pitching coach, Poppy arrived. In addition to the three of us, there were a few other people (maybe 5 or so) watching Sanabia pitch.
When Sanabia finished up, he walked under us and I called out, "Hey, Alex, any chance you could toss up that baseball for my son (pointing at Tim)."
And just like that, Tim has baseball number 99 in his hands:
Thanks, Alex!
After a while, some Nationals gathered around the bullpen in RF. We took Poppy, who was visiting Nationals Park for the first time, over to RF to look down into the Nats bullpen. But then some Marlins came out. Given the options, I thought it would be a lot better to get number 100 from a Marlin. So we headed back over to LF.
We couldn't go into the infield seats until 12:00 o'clock. So we just hung out in the outfield and watched…
…I had no clue who any of the Marlins were down there. Finally, the ushers waved us toward the infield. We were free to roam wherever we wanted to in the stadium.
We made our way to the LF foul line where we stood behind a pitcher who we'd never heard of before (despite the fact we'd actually seen him pitch two innings against the Phillies the weekend before). I used my zoom to figure out…
Poppy wandered off to find a hot dog for lunch while Tim and I watched the action on the field. Finally, Buente and his partner finished up and Buente started walking toward the baseball bag. There were literally zero other fans along the foul line with us. As Buente passed right in front of us, I recycled my question to Alex Sanabia, "Hey, Jay, any chance my son could get that baseball?"
Buente took 1-2 more steps toward the bag and then took a sharp left turn and walked the baseball over and handed it to Tim. I was quick to ask if he'd hang out for two seconds to get his picture with Tim…
…and Buente was happy to do so.
100 Thank yous, Jay Buente!
After Buente walked away, Tim turned toward me and held the ball high over his head and yelled with excitement, "We have 100 baseballs!"
Wow – that's cool!
We were just about to go meet up with Poppy when Marlins pitcher Brian Sanches wandered by. We got Sanches to autograph a spare baseball we had in our bag (FYI, when fans insist on giving baseballs to Tim (meaning, I cannot talk them into giving it to another kid), we use them for autographs. This ball was from Cleveland.).
Then Sanches, who seemed to be an incredibly nice and genuine guy, posed for a picture with Tim:
Finally, we met up with Poppy. I had a hot dog, but Tim wasn't hungry. After eating, it was time to walk around the stadium with Poppy. First, we stopped in LF to get our picture with a guy in a Cowboys jersey for the MyGameBalls.com Photo Scavenger Hunt.
Next, we headed into the upper deck to check out the Capitol Builiding and Washington Monument. We got a photo of Poppy, Tim and the Capitol building:
Then we looked down over the seats and into the field:
Those two guys in LF in the picture to the left above are Jose Veras and Jorge Sosa. I yelled down "JOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOORGGGGGEEE!!"
Sosa looked up and I flashed my glove at him.
Jorge was holding a baseball and he reared back and cocked his arm like he was going to give it a mighty toss up to me. Then he stopped and made an exaggrated "oh, my arm is hurt" look and pointed to his arm. Then he gave a big chuckled and went along on his way. I've always thought it would be cool to catch a baseball in the upper deck and this was the closest we've ever come to doing it.
Oh, well, on with the stadium tour. We walked around to the RF side and gazed upon the river (just like we'd done the weekend before with my cousin, Nathan). Out in the distance, Poppy pointed out Fort McNair…
…where a young Poppy just back to the States after a tour in Vietnam met a young Grammy (Tim's maternal grandma). The story goes that Poppy was to be reassigned to Texas to finish out the final year of his military commitment. After a tour in southeast Asia, Poppy wasn't too excited to spend another year away from his home in the northeast. So he headed to the Pentagon to meet with some military big wigs and request a change of assignment to be closer to his home in New Jersey. The officer in charge couldn't get him to New Jersey, but he offered to change Poppy's assignment to a job in Washington, D.C. Poppy jumped at the opportunity, and Grammy (who worked for the officer) was in charge of typing up Poppy's change of assignment orders.
Eventually, Poppy would begin courting Grammy. They'd marry. Have a daughter. Have another daughter. Have both daughters move away to Philadelphia where the younger daughter would meet and eventually marry a guy who had just moved to Philadelphia from Seattle. The younger daughter and the guy from Seattle would have a kid. They'd take the kid to his first baseball game on September 12, 2006. Poppy would also attend the kid's first game. And fourth years later, Poppy, the guy from Seattle, and the kid would go to another baseball game on September 12, 2010, where Poppy would point out the building where the whole the whole story began. And then they would all go buy some more hot dogs and nachos, and then report to their seats in CF.
Here was their view:
For the second week in a row, we had front row seats in the OF. This time, it was in section 143.
Once again, Nyjer Morgan was playing CF for the Nationals…
…because he was still appealing his two suspensions. Eventually, he'd prevail on one of his suspensions, I believe.
This is what it looked like as we watched the game:
Although it looks a little gloomy, the weather was actually ideal for us. No rain at all and none of the brutal sun that chased us from our seats by the fourth inning the week before.
Tim ate some extremely unimpressive nachos…
…he still liked them despite their relative unimpressiveness to other nachos Tim had enjoyed this season. In the picture above to the right, he is pretending that the chip is his mouth wide open. Four year olds are easily entertained.
There was some more unusual entertainment early in the game…
…a squirrel ran across the outfield. Eventually, he'd run up and down the chain link fence in front of the Nationals bullpen. They should have chased that squirrel down and taken him away in handcuffs for running on the field during the game.
Hey, there was a game played too.
Mike "The Beast" Stanton was in the house. And he brought a big bat with him…
…on this swing, Stanton crushed a homerun DEEEEEP into the leftfield stands. That put the Marlins up 1-0. Later in the inning, Emilio Bonafacio hit an RBI single to make it 2-0.
Then things got a little interesting. Bonafacio stole second. Nats pitcher Jordan Zimmermann tried to pick Bonafacio off of second, but threw the ball high and behind second baseman Adam Kennedy. Kennedy should have caught the ball, but it tipped off of his glove and scooted into shallow RF.
Bonafacio took off for third with blazing speed. Meanwhile, Kennedy jogged after the loose ball like he was bored and had nothing better to do. Bonafacio had his afterburners on. I shouted, "HE'S GONNA SCORE!!!" And that is just what he did. He scored from second base on a failed pick-off move and Kennedy's laziness in chasing the ball. This is what Kennedy looked like as he hung his head in shame:
The Marlins led 3-0. But the Nats were about to get in on the action. In the bottom of the second, Ivan Rodriguez came to the plate with the bases loaded. On this swing…
…he hit a single to left field scoring Adam Dunn and Mike Morse.
Mike Stanton was not pleased that the Nats had closed the gap to 3-2. In the top of the third inning, Stanton flexed his muscles again on this pitch…
…another deep homerun to left field. This one was a 2-run job staking the Marlins to a 5-2 lead in the top of the third.
Starting in the bottom of the third, the Nats would score one run an inning for the next three innings. And the Marlins scored a single run in the fourth. None of those runs were particularly exciting or notable, other than the fact that one of them was credited to future Hall of Famer Ivan Rodriguez (on a weak grounder to 2B in the bottom of the fourth inning).
So that made the score 6-5 Marlins after five innings.
In the middle innings, Tim enjoyed an anniversary ice cream helmet…
…choloate with sprinkles, of course.
And, we cheered on everyone's favorite running President, Teddy Roosevelt…
…but he came in a distant fourth place in the 4-man Presidents race.
Yeah, we were having fun. It was a great day:
The outfield seats were practically empty. I was hoping a homerun would come our way. When Adam Dunn would bat, I camped out in the stairway with room to run in every direction…
…above to the left is my view of Big Adam Dunn during his at bats. To the right, my view of Tim and Poppy (and some guy who stood the whole game a couple seats away).
Of course, no homeruns came anywhere near us.
In the sixth inning, Tim wanted to go to the kids play area. That's when the drama began. Tim was so excited he was running up and down the outfield stairs as Poppy and I followed him. On his way up the stairs, Tim tripped and smacked both shins on the edge of a concrete stair and his forehead right on the top of the next stair up.
He went crazy with the water works.
It was legitimate water works. He had scrapes on both knees and over his left eye.
Tim no longer wanted to go to the play area. He wanted to go to the first aid office and get some bandaids. So that's what we did. He was still huff'n and puff'n.
As we walked to the office, I snapped this picture of our new buddy, Brian Sanches…
…pitching to Pudge Rodriguez. Sanches would strike out Pudge, Willie Harris and Ian Desmond in the bottom of the sixth inning. He'd also qualify for his first win of the season.
The people in the first aid office had just the thing to cure Tim's blues. In addition to some bandaids, they gave him a plastic cup with a metalic silver Nationals "W" on one side and a metalic silver picture of Nationals Park on the opposite side. Between the bandaids and the cup…
…Tim started to feel a lot better.
We grabbed some seats around 1B just in time to see Adam Dunn bat again. He hit this foul ball…
…and then eventually drew a walk. No homeruns for Big Dunn on this day.
Here was our view from the seats we found in section 133:
We were still in these seats in the top of the 8th when Hanley Ramirez struck out looking to end the inning…
…and then stood at the plate with his hand on his hip and feet crossed talking to umpire Wally Bell for what seemed like forever.
Heading into the top of the ninth, we decided to swing around to the 3B side to go for an umpire ball. But as we walked through the concourse behind 1B and about to duck into the closed off tunnel behind the fancy clubs and restaurants behind home plate, I noticed that the guard watching the entrance to the fancy seats directly behind home plate was leaning far over a railing watching something in the seats.
We decided to walk in there like we belonged and see what would happen. With Tim on my shoulders I breezed right by the usher and into the fancy seats. Right as we got into the seats, someone hit a pop foul ball about 10 feet away from us. As people were going for the ball, Tim and I took some seats undetected. Interestingly, there was a ticket in the drink holder where we sat down so we were golden incase someone came and asked to see our ticket.
This was our view from section 124:
With all of the commotion from the foul ball, I didn't even realize that I had no clue where Poppy was. I called his cellphone and discovered that another usher stopped him as he walked into the fancy seats behind us. I guess that foul ball really helped us out. Anyway, it was the ninth inning and Poppy told us to enjoy the fancy seats and he'd meet up with us after the game.
Thanks, Poppy!
Mike Stanton was up again in the ninth…
…but failed to hit his third homerun of the day. He would have to settle for 3-4 day with 2HR and 3RBI.
Now, the "fancy" seats behind home plate are segregated between the "fancy" seats, the "really fancy" seats, the "ridiculously fancy" seats, and the "outrageously fancy seats." We were in the "really fancy seats."
However, I realized we could still go for an umpire baseball if we could get into the "ridiculously fancy" seats (or, heaven forbid, the "outrageously fancy" seats) at the end of the game. Actually, if we could get into the "outrageously fancy" seats, an umpire baseball would be almost guaranteed. But we had no fanciful thoughts about making it into the "outrageously fancy" seats.
We headed over to the far side of section 119, where this was our view:
Those stairs to the left lead down into the "ridiculously fancy" seats. An usher sits right at the bottom of the stairs, to keep people with mere "really fancy" seats out, no doubt. I figured we could probably get down there and sweet talk her, if need be, right at the end of the game so Tim could ask for an umpire ball in the "ridiculously fancy" seats.
First, Tim did some kung fu:
After Ian Desmond grounded out to end the game, things went even better than we could planned. We rushed down the stairs. The usher at the bottom of the stairs stood up and walked toward the field. As she made her way to the field, she opened a gate to the "outrageously fancy" seats.
All of a sudden we found ourselves in the IDEAL spot. In that kung fu picture above, there is a little kid wearing a bright blue shirt in the first row at the far left side of the picture. That is where we were standing when home plate umpire Wally Bell walked off of the field.
Essentially, when a kid stands in that spot with no other kids present as the umpire comes off the field, that kid is going to get an umpire baseball. It is close to guaranteed.
And when Wally Bell set this baseball (baseball no. 101) in Tim's glove…
…we had officially embarked on a new journey: the journey to baseball no. 200.
Thanks, Wally Bell!
Okay, so the game was over and it was time to go meet up with Poppy. We had to exit the seats and make our way around the concourse toward CF. But we were in the first row of the fanciest seats at Nationals Park. We had to get a picture:
And, how do people in those seats leave the field of play? They exit through the uber-fancy Lexus Club.
Sounds good to us!
It was dark in there. These were the best pictures I could get of the bar and the area behind the bar:
That bar (above to the right) is directly inside the glass doors directly behind home plate at Nationals Park. The picure above to the left is taken from the 1B side of the Lexus Club. To the left and behind those big panels that spell "NATIONALS" is restaurant-style seating.
To the far 1B side of the club there is a wall of windows. In the windows closer to the field you can watch the Nationals take BP in the underground cages…
…as you walk toward the back of the club (away from the field), there are more windows that peer in on the interview room.
It was pretty sweet in there. One cool thing that I tired unsuccessfully to photograph was a hallway with pictures of a whole bunch of U.S. Presidents throwing out first pitches at MLB games. Sadly, the lighting in there was so weird (and we needed to get back to Poppy so I rushed and) none of my pictures came out.
Anyway, we headed back out of the field, circled the concourse, met up with Poppy, and went and got in line for KIDS RUN THE BASES!
This was Poppy's first Kids Run The Bases and only the second MLB field he'd ever walked on before (the first being Camden Yards where he once attended a wedding).
Poppy stood in for me in our traditional Kids Run The Bases right field distance marker picture:
Note: both Tim and Poppy are standing in fair territory. Excellent.
Running the bases, as always, was awesome:
And, amazingly, I actually got a decent picture of Tim at each base:
Before heading out, we got a picture of Tim by the "Nationals Park" sign on the rock wall behind home plate…
…we'd just been in those blue seats right on the other side of the rock wall.
A nice fan took a picture of the three of us on the field to mark the occassion:
Yes, coming to Nationals Park for Tim's Fourth MLB Anniversary was the right call.
We got our 100th baseball.
Spent some great quality time with Poppy.
Visited the Lexus Club.
Ran the Bases.
Other than maybe "not bashing your head on a concrete step," what more can you ask for in a day at the ballpark? Not much.
It was another great MLB anniversary.
Thanks, MLB!
2010 Fan Stats:
25 Games
20 Teams (Mariners, Orioles, Blue Jays, Red Sox, Angels, Twins, Athletics, White Sox, Indians and Yankees; Phillies, Dodgers, Pirates, Braves, Mets, Brewers, Padres, Giants, Nationals and Marlins)
21 Ice Cream Helmets (Orioles (3), Phillies (3), Padres (2), Pirates (2), Mets, Dodgers, Athletics, Nationals (3), Indians, Yankees)
58 Baseballs (12 Mariners, 2 Angels, 3 Athletics, 3 Brewers, 4 Nationals, 2 Blue Jays, 8 Umpires, 2 Phillies, 1 Mets, 4 Braves, 1 Orioles, 1 Dodgers, 1 Padres, 1 Giants, 2 Twins, 1 White Sox, 7 Easter Eggs, 1 Yankees, 2 Marlins)
12 Stadiums (Camden Yards, Citizens Bank Park, Nationals Park, Citi Field, PNC Park, Oakland-Alameda County Stadium, Dodgers Stadium, PETCO Park, Angel Stadium of Anaheim, AT&T Park, Progressive Field, Yankee Stadium)
15 Player Photos (Jamie Moyer, Ryan Rowland-Smith (2), Omar Vizquel, Chad Cordero, Mike Cameron, Joel Piniero, Frank Catalanotto, Billy Wagner, Jeff Suppan, Tommy Hanson, Jered Weaver, Jay Buente, Brian Sanches and Scott Olsen)
2 Retired Player Photos (Jim Palmer, Bert Blyleven)
1 Umpire Photo ("Cowboy" Joe West)
10 Autographs (Ryan Rowland-Smith (2), Omar Vizquel, Chad Cordero, Daisuke Matsuzaka, Joel Piniero, Frank Catalanotto (2), Billy Wagner (2), Jeff Suppan, Tommy Hanson, Jeff Weaver, Brian Sanches and Scott Olsen)
8 Kids Run The Bases (Citizens Bank Park, 2 Nationals Park, Citi Field, PNC Park, PETCO Park, Camden Yards, Progressive Field)


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Jarring oddity floats in jar in Kountze home
Held captive in Hardin County, the body of a monster occupies a spot inside a local man's home.
It's the stuff of some people's nightmares, but Floyd Boyett views his monster as a mystery waiting to be untangled.
Feathers protruding from the side, the head of an unknown bird rests at the bottom of its cage - a hand-blown glass pickle jar, at least 100 years old, sealed with the bottle's original wax.
The Kountze man said he's pretty sure someone sewed two snake bodies onto the head of a bird a century ago as part of some oddity in a traveling sideshow.
Boyett, the Hardin County Genealogical Society president, speculates the creature was made to look like Cockatrices, mentioned multiple times in the Bible in the book of Isaiah.
Cockatrices had the head of a bird and the legs of two dragons.
The bird-snake also could have been made in the image of a type of griffin or a basilisk, Greek monsters, said to have had a snake's body and a bird's head, that could turn a person to stone with one look.
These stories don't explain everything, though.
Aside from the mingling of a bird with intertwined snake bodies, Boyett's creature has a mouth rather than a beak.
Boyett took his oddity to Lamar University to have the bird's head X-rayed, because it could pass for a rodent's. He wanted to make sure the head hadn't been altered like the creature's body.
"The mouth is real," he said. "It is a bird."
Boyett's son helped in the verification by taking the monster to a bird expert at Stephen F. Austin University.
While the expert couldn't identify the type of bird, Boyett said he confirmed the head hadn't been altered past being sewn onto snake bodies.
One of the snakes attached to the bird is a kingsnake, native to Southeast Texas, Boyett said. It's unclear what type of snake the other is. Reptiles are hard to identify without heads, he said.
Boyett's investigation of his monster led to the discovery of some undeveloped negatives of the creature stored at Lamar University. The photos, taken by Larry Jene Fisher, provide no description or date. A photographer in Southeast Texas, Fisher took pictures of everyday life between the 1920s and 1930s, making the photos of the creature at least 75 to 80 years old.
Boyett said he's got a pretty good feeling his monster in a jar was displayed in "freak shows" that once traveled around the nation with carnivals.
Past his speculation, the monster's past remains mystery.
What Boyett believes to have once been brightly colored wings around the bird's head are now faded into a pale orange color. Alcohol, used to preserve the creature, has long evaporated from the bottle. Boyett said he plans on finding a way into the cathedral-style jar formation without causing damage so he can add more alcohol.
"I hate to do it because it's still sealed," he said.
Boyett has been researching his monster for decades.
He said he was repairing air-conditioning units in the late 1970s or early 1980s when he received a call from a man in Lumberton needing work done. The two began reminiscing over their bottle collections when the man decided to show Boyett a special jar.
Inside was the monster.
"I knew then that I had to have it," Boyett said.
The man wasn't willing to give up his find, which he told Boyett he bought in an estate sale. It was the last item available at the bank-hosted sale because no one would touch it.
A year later, the man called Boyett again for air-conditioner repairs.
It was a Sunday morning and the man's wife was in labor at the emergency room. Meanwhile, the couple's house was heating up.
Boyett said that when the man asked how much the repairs were, he said he'd take nothing short of the monster.
Superstions about the monster's origins don't give Boyett cause for hesitation.
Because when it all boils down, "it's just a fake deal someone put together," he said.
But it's still fun to imagine.
"What I've got I haven't a clue," Boyett said.
email@example.com Twitter.com/SmithCassie


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The Most Interesting German Shepherd Dog Facts
Hey folks... I know I've been a bit too slow and not been posting so frequently. I'm an IT professional and usually remain busy chasing my targets and meetings deadlines, like all my other colleagues and all other peeps in the industry. I hardly get a chance to scoop time out of my busy schedule for maintaining my sites regularly.
Here's something about the Alsatian breed, that you would like to read... I am sure. This would probably be the only post in this site that would have every chance to be always in process. You can waves of interesting facts about German Shepherd Dog breed that any GSD lover would ever want to know.
Have you ever wondered....
1) Which is the world's first German Shepherd Dog Club and when was it founded?
2) Which was the first GSD to be registered in the stud book of the first GSD Club?
3) How is a Shiloh Shepherd different from a German Shepherd?
4) What was the name of John Kennedy's beloved German Shepherd Dog?
5) what was the name of the first German Shepherd Dog to return back home from the Vietnam War?
6) What rank does this breed acquire in the list of world's 10 most intelligent dog breeds?
Get the answers to all these questions at the official website of About German Shepherd Dog - German Shepherd Dog facts


text: Anaerobiospirillum succiniciproducens Davis et al. (ATCC® 29305™) Strain Designations: S411 / Type Strain: yes / Biosafety Level: 2 General Information Characteristics Culture Method History Documentation Print Email Share Share this product Facebook Twitter Google+ Permits and Restrictions View Permits Strain Designations S411 Application Produces phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase (ATP)Produces succinic acid Isolation Throat of dog Biosafety Level 2 Biosafety classification is based on U.S. Public Health Service Guidelines, it is the responsibility of the customer to ensure that their facilities comply with biosafety regulations for their own country. Product Format freeze-dried Preceptrol® no Type Strain yes (type strain) Medium ATCC® Medium 593: Chopped meat medium Growth Conditions Temperature: 37.0°CAtmosphere: Anaerobic Name of Depositor CP Davis Chain of Custody ATCC <<--CP Davis<<--D. Cleven Isolation Throat of dog References Datta R. Process for the production of succinic acid by anaerobic fermentation. US Patent 5,143,833 dated Sep 1 1992 Davis CP, et al. Anaerobiospirillum, a new genus of spiral-shaped bacteria. Int. J. Syst. Bacteriol. 26: 498-504, 1976. Podkovyrov SM, Zeikus JG. Purification and characterization of phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase,a catabolic CO2-fixing enzyme, from Anaerobiospirillum succiniciproducens. J. Gen. Microbiol. 139: 223-228, 1993. PubMed: 8436945 Skerman VB, et al. Approved lists of bacterial names. Int J Syst Bacteriol 30: 225-420, 1980. type strain type strain Cross References Nucleotide (GenBank) : U96412 Anaerobiospirillum succiniciproducens 16S ribosomal RNA gene, complete sequence. Nucleotide (GenBank) : U95960 Anaerobiospirillum succiniciproducens phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase (pckA) gene, complete cds. Permits These permits may be required for shipping this product: Customers located in the state of Hawaii will need to contact the Hawaii Department of Agriculture to determine if an Import Permit is required. A copy of the permit or documentation that a permit is not required must be sent to ATCC in advance of shipment. Basic Documentation Product Sheet Certificate of Analysis SDS


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|Syntactic Confectionery Delight
Re: Re: Re: Re: Perl Idioms Explained - my $string = do { local $/; <FILEHANDLE> };by John M. Dlugosz (Monsignor)
|on Sep 02, 2003 at 20:33 UTC ( #288429=note: print w/replies, xml )
|Need Help??
I tried File::Slurp once, and found that it didn't take an argument for opening the file in binary mode. So I couldn't use it in the spot I planned it for! I included my own slurp function, called something like read_whole_file, in the program that did what I needed. This gives the benifit of it being more readable than the idiom, the ability to change it in once place only (after all, if they forgot binmode what else might go wrong some day?), and no hassle of installing a module.
In Section Meditations


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To the Editor:
I am a proud 16-year citizen of Alexandria. One of the things I love most about living here is the city's commitment to creating a caring environment and fulfilling the needs of its citizens. As a taxpayer, a member of the Alexandria Council of Human Services Organization, and the executive director of the Parent Leadership Training Institute of Alexandria (PLTI), I often speak of the importance of civic engagement and creating opportunities for our citizens to become advocates for themselves and their communities. This is why I support the city's latest initiative, "What's Next Alexandria?" which is bringing residents together to formulate ideas on how Alexandrians can play a larger role in the public decisions that shape the city.
Of course, the goal of bringing new voices to our community tables, boards, commissions, and schools colors everything we do at PLTI. I am fortunate to work daily with motivated individuals who are passionate about growing their public awareness and acquiring the necessary tools to participate and influence positive outcomes for our city's youth. One of the requirements of our PLTI students is that they design and execute a civic project where they employ the skills they learn in the program. Over the past several years, participants have effected impressive changes in our community, such as founding an after-school financial literacy course for middle and high school students, starting a Spanish-language teen pregnancy prevention program, and launching a peer-to-peer mentoring initiative targeting elementary girls in order to build self esteem and promote community service.
Even after they graduate, our alumni remain involved and are recognized as leaders in the community. The city recently approached PLTI to ask for volunteers to contribute to and help facilitate the "What's Next Alexandria?" dialogue. Several former students answered the call, and are enthusiastically involved in this critical conversation. I hope others in the community will consider participating; the next dialogue is slated for March.
For seven years PLTI has been able to offer our free 20-week course on leadership and civics due to the generosity of community sponsors and individuals who support our mission. In order to continue this service, we must raise funds annually to meet our budget. I invite you to join us for a performance of Lady Swings the Blues on March 10 at 5 pm at MetroStage to support us in our goal of fostering parental involvement in shaping our children's future. Tickets are $75 and include a delicious dinner buffet and silent auction prior to the show. Your generous support will help us to continue delivering free non-partisan civic leadership and democracy education to Alexandrians.
Fay D. Slotnick


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New charges: Prosecutor delivers bad news to accused killer Huguely
Charlottesville's top prosecutor has just revealed a new pack of charges against the silver-spooned scion of a Washington family who stands accused of killing an ex-girlfriend, a crime that shocked the University of Virginia and reverberated across the nation due to the golden lives cut short by the killing.
George Wesley Huguely V will face the five new charges–- felony murder, robbery, burglary, statutory burglary, and grand larceny–- at a 10am video feed to the Charlottesville General District Court on Monday, January 10, according to a release from Commonwealth's Attorney Dave Chapman.
Hastening to note in the release that Huguely remains presumed innocent until proven guilty, Chapman also points out that he expects to receive a request for a continuance of Huguely's scheduled January 21 preliminary hearing.
Already charged with first-degree murder, Huguely was arrested May 3, the day his ex-girlfriend was found dead in a pool of blood in her 14th Street apartment. Through a lawyer, Huguely–- despite an alleged admission of battering her head against a wall–- has portrayed 22-year-old college senior Yeardley Love's death as an accident. He has been held at the Albemarle-Charlottesville Regional Jail.
The case has attracted such widespread national attention that a vaguely-sourced December story about an allegedly impending plea deal caused even respected national media outlets such as CBS to devote multiple minutes of television airtime to rehashing the case. As it turned out, the only real development in the case last month came when a Charlottesville judge turned back an attempt by Huguely's defense team to probe through her medical records. A defense lawyer even claimed that Love may have died not from blunt force trauma but from her own prescription to Adderall, a stimulant widely used to treat Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder.
10 comments
Leave them in a room with me! Me me me!!!
I don't respect CBS.
this young man life is down the drange any way for what happen in this case, you have murder charges again you and then 4 or 5 more own top of this , things dont look good at this time,this is what happen when somethihg like this dont get cought in time,ahd people have to come forward and tell what know.
darn Adderall, just jumps out of the bottle and beats your head against the wall.
Perhaps these attorneys should be left in a room alone with Adderall to see just what happens.
"silver-spooned scion of a Washington family "
"golden lives cut short by the killing"
Excellent, classy reporting!! Good job!!! Keep up the stellar word choice!! You are so gifted at diction and syntax!!
Leave them in a room with Boy George and the Adderall....
I hope the Commonwealth's case hasn't gone south on them. I don't understand placing all these "Mickey Mouse" charges when Huguely is already charged with first degree murder. I guess Chapman is working some kind of mid-game strategy, but I will never understand it.
Well.If they just get him on the larceny he will do some time, right?
"Hastening to note in the release that Huguely remains presumed innocent until proven guilty".....
.....and Ms. Love remains deceased due to Boy George carrying out a death sentence on her...........
I hope he gets the Chair for this murder or if not that Life. I am a mother and have two daughters, one of which is a graduate of UVA, and can only think how I would feel at this beast taking my daughter. If he gets out he will take another life. BJS


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Reader Raymidge (and PFT) reporting that Adalius Thomas has just been released by the Pats. He came to NE a few years ago anointed the next big LB only to fall on his face. But from the reading I've done on the subject over time, a fair amount of this had to do with an injury and then a falling out with coach Bill Belichick. Physically, he's impressive and would certainly fit the bill as an OLB for the Pack. I just don't know what kind of salary he'd command and if he wants too much, I don't think I'd bother. But he's the kind of guy at least worth considering based on just how good he was when he was good. He wasn't just good, he was unreal.
Adalius Thomas anyone?
12 Responses to "Adalius Thomas anyone?"
Nick Says:
April 26, 2010 at 12:28 pm |
I think he would be a great fit opposite Clay Matthews.
Joe Says:
April 26, 2010 at 1:40 pm |
It looks like an even better idea in light of this:
DaveK Says:
April 26, 2010 at 1:48 pm |
Someone probably gives him stupid money and that won't be TT. If not, he might be worth considering. It could be that NE cut him for reasons other then his production on the field. He had a public spat with Belichick about a one game suspension for being 10 minutes late to a practice. I also remember him griping how they handled his arm injury in 2008. Couple all that with his $4.5 million salary and NE may just have wanted to cut ties even with decent on the field production. But, honestly I have no idea how he played last year and how he fits into Caper's version of the 3-4. I'll trust Reggie McKensie and TT to pour over the tape and make that call. Same with Faneca….or Hovan….or any other aging vet hitting the street after the draft.
jacobs7191 Says:
April 26, 2010 at 2:47 pm |
Well I did some research(actually, thats how I found this blog). Sounds like in Baltimore he was more of an attacker on the defensive side of the ball. He wanted to get to the QB and they let him. It also mentioned in New England they like to send their LB's into coverage a lot more than the Ravens(or Packers). So, if you ask me, it sounds like he would be a good fit for our 3-4. Capers loves to be aggressive, and with Matthews on one side and Thomas on the other. Yikes! If he could even get close to his Pro Bowl years again. It's at least worth a look TT. This would even help our shotty secondary, and make up for not drafting at the CB or LB position. Most likely he will end up with his former defensive coordinator Rex Ryan, when he was with Baltimore, in New York. Wouldn't mind seeing him in Green and Gold, though.
Ron LC Says:
April 26, 2010 at 4:06 pm |
With Thompson gone the OLB depth chart is getting thin. Maybe they could move some guys around. Go get him.
Nick Says:
April 26, 2010 at 4:20 pm |
Thomas complained last year that he wasnt getting enough pash rush reps. We need a pash rushing OLB.
I think its a good fit.
travis Says:
April 28, 2010 at 12:54 am |
Well too little too late, he's signed with Arizona. A one year 2.5 million dollar contract with 100k signing bonus. Seems pretty cheap, but I think his decline might just not be worth it. Let's work with people who are going to improve.
RayMidge Says:
April 28, 2010 at 10:21 am |
travis, I think you mean Faneca signed with Az.
I think Thomas would be a great fit for the right price and (the biggest thing) if he really wants to be a Packer. Vet FA's have to be motivated and have to want to fit in to the team they are signing with. If Thomas is signed to be part of a versatile group of LBs and he is set loose as a passrusher I would think he still has a lot to offer. Thomas' greatest success came in Bal. where the D was unselfish and aggressive, similar to the style Capers has brought to GB.
I suspect that one of the reasons that TT is so picky in free agency is that the right fit is so hard to find and the wrong fit can be more than just an isolted mistake, it can upset the team in a larger way and actually set a team back.
travis Says:
April 28, 2010 at 10:46 pm |
hehe clicked the wrong article!
My bad
Ryan ross Says:
April 29, 2010 at 3:32 pm |
This is typical every year this happens we have a chance to make a bowl run we dont make the move and someone else gets the guy we need to win a bowl the packers have a difficult schedule and we need adalius opposite clay matthews for example when Favre wanted Randy Moss we didnt make a move now favre plays for minnesota lol what a joke


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I have installed and setup a guest Mageia 2 on VirtualBox which I plan to use as a development web server. My host is Windows 7 (64-bit) and I want to access the web sites from this host web browser.
I have set VirtualBox Network setting of Mageia guest OS to "Bridged Adapter" and I took the IP address of
eth0 and entered that on my host web browser. But I am getting a timeout so I am thinking that the host and guest OSes are not communicating.
Prior to using Mageia, I had a Debian guest OS with the same setup and when I entered the IP address of the guest
eth0 to my host web browser, the "It works!" page is shown. And I did not do any configurations.
I am thinking that it has something to do with the security features of my Mageia guest OS.
Just a note, the Mageia guest OS is a minimal install -- no GUI and just the bare packages are installed along with the LAMP packages. So everything is CLI.
I don't know where to start in getting access to my web server guest OS from host OS. Any tips?


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NEW YORK (AP) Carmelo Anthony scored 23 points, J.R. Smith added 20 and the New York Knicks snapped the San Antonio Spurs' seven-game winning streak with a 100-83 victory Thursday night.
Steve Novak added 15 points and Tyson Chandler had 10 points and 14 rebounds to help the Knicks bounced back from consecutive losses by dominating the final period against the Spurs, who may have run out of gas in their second game in two nights.
Tim Duncan and Tony Parker each had just 11 points for the Spurs, who lost Stephen Jackson to an unusual injury, then lost what had been the NBA's longest winning streak.
Jackson played just three minutes off the bench before spraining his right ankle when he took a shot then fell back into a waitress working the sideline in front of Mayor Michael Bloomberg.
Smith, who had scored 25 points in his last four games as a reserve, highlighted his outing with an acrobatic dunk in the fourth quarter that brought fans to their feet. The pass came from reserve point guard Pablo Prigioni, who had one of his most complete games since coming to the NBA at age 35, finishing with six points and nine assists.
DENVER (AP) - J.J. Barea scored 12 of his 17 points in the fourth quarter while All-Star forward Kevin Love sat on the bench with a sprained finger, lifting Minnesota over Denver.
The Timberwolves were playing for the second straight night, but fatigue hardly appeared to be a factor as they handed the Nuggets a rare home loss. Denver, on the other hand, looked lethargic two days after snapping the Los Angeles Clippers' 17-game winning streak. Kosta Koufos and Ty Lawson led the Nuggets with 16 points each.
The game went back and forth in the final quarter before Luke Ridnour gave the Timberwolves the lead for good on a 3-pointer with 2:43 remaining. Barea followed with another 3 to cement the win.


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They make you look like a moron. Not a doctor.
What makes me say this?
Because yesterday I got a letter from a local family practice doc, who I know recently purchased a computer chart system. A note on an 87 year old lady with advanced dementia, who lives in an Alzheimer's nursing home, featured this line:
"The following preventative issues were discussed with the patient: seatbelt use, driving safety, breast self-exam, testicular self-exam, tobacco avoidance, illicit drug use, safe sex, exercise, nutrition, alcohol moderation, caffeine moderation, routine screening for colon/breast/prostate cancer, and weight control."
1. He's a moron, and really did all that.
2. He's just letting the computer fill in every default, so he can bill for time, and is still a moron.
3. He's not even bothering to see the patients anymore, and is a lazy moron.


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Press Release:
The Museum of Chinese in America is pleased to announce the launch of two new exhibitions exploring the relationship between Asian Americans and comic books – Marvels and Monsters: Unmasking Asian Images in U.S. Comics, 1942-1986 and Alt.Comics: Asian American Artists Reinvent the Comic Book, on view from September 27, 2012 through February 24, 2013. The opening reception will be on Thursday September 27, 2012 from 6:00 – 8:00pm.
Recently donated to the NYU Fales Library & Special Collection, Marvels and Monsters is drawn from what is widely considered the world's largest archive of comic books featuring images of Asian and Americans, painstakingly collected over four turbulent decades (1940s to 1980s) by science fiction author and cultural studies scholar William F. Wu. The compilation offers a unique glimpse into America's evolving racial and cultural sensibilities, as depicted by wartime images of racist propaganda and xenophobic anxiety over Chinese immigration to lasting archetypes which continue to define America's perception of Asians today.
According to curator Jeff Yang, "All of the key elements that have shaped who we are as a people have occurred during this time: Pearl Harbor, Japanese internment camps, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, ethnic enclaves, the Asian American rights movement, and the economic rise of Japan and China. What Wu has done is to collect images shaped by political forces to tell a narrative of how America views Asians."
Marvels and Monsters is a selection of the most indelible images from Wu's collection, placed within a historical context and juxtaposed with insights from contemporary Asian American writers and artists Ken Chen, Larry Hama, David Henry Hwang, Vijay Prashad, and Gene Luen Yang. The exhibition also incorporates elements meant to encourage direct engagement with the archetypes, such as life-size cutouts allowing visitors to put themselves "inside the image" and an installation called "Shades of Yellow" which matches the shades used for Asian skin tones in the comics with their garish Pantone TM color equivalents.
Alt.Comics extends the conversation of Marvels & Monsters into the present, showcasing the efforts of Asian American artists to establish a new and authentic identity by subverting stereotypes and juxtaposing disparate images. The exhibition focuses on alternative and independent comic spaces, particularly in the hubs of San Francisco and New York, which produced many of the most prominent artists in the independent scene. The exhibition features work by: Larry Hama, Alex Joon Kim, Derek Kirk Kim, Jerry Ma, Christine Norrie, Thien Pham, Lark Pien, Jason Shiga, GB Tran, and Gene Luen Yang.
This exhibition includes excerpts from Secret Identities Volume 2: Shattered, a follow-up to the groundbreaking compilation using the comic format "to upend, re-envision, re-imagine – to shatter – the distorted and negative images that have shadowed Asian Americans since the earliest days of our arrival in this country." The Secret Identities component includes the work of: Jeremy Arambulo, Jef Castro, Louie Chin, Johann Choi, Ming Doyle, Robin Ha, Kripa Joshi, Eric Kim, Alice Meichi Li, Jerry Ma, Jamie Noguchi, Saumin Patel, Tak Toyoshima, GB Tran, Glenn Urieta, and DaFu Yu.
Marvels & Monsters is curated by Jeff Yang and organized by the A/P/A Institute at NYU. It was originally exhibited at NYU Fales Library, and was recently shown at the Asian Arts Initiative in Philadelphia. Alt.Comics is curated by Jeff Yang for the Museum of Chinese in America.
These exhibitions are made possible with public funds from the New York State Council on the Arts (Museums Program), celebrating 50 years of building strong, creative communities in New York State's 62 counties, and with public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council. Additional support is provided by Museum members.
About William F. Wu, Collector
Nominated five times for the Hugo, Nebula, and World Fantasy Awards, William F. Wu has published over a dozen novels, including the best-selling 1996 STAR WARS: Tales from Jabba's Palace and Avon's young adult SF series Isaac Asimov's Robots in Time. His most acclaimed book, Hong on the Range, was chosen for the Wilson Library Bulletin's list of science fiction "Books Too Good To Miss," a selection for the American Library Association list of Best Books for Young People, the New York Public Library's Recommended Books for the Teen Age, and was also a Young Adult Editor's Choice by Booklist. A prolific short story writer, Wu's works have appeared in a wide variety of magazines and anthologies; his short story "Wong's Lost and Found Emporium" was a multiple award nominee that was adapted into an episode of the television series The Twilight Zone. He has a Ph.D. in American Culture from the University of Michigan, where he wrote his doctoral dissertation, published in book form as The Yellow Peril: Chinese Americans in American Fiction, 1850-1940 (Archon Books, 1982).
About Jeff Yang, Curator
Jeff Yang began reading and collecting comics at the age of eight, and hasn't allowed distractions like adulthood, marriage and fatherhood to deter him since. He has written the column "Asian Pop" for the San Francisco Chronicle for the past six years, and penned a series of acclaimed and bestselling books — Eastern Standard Time; I Am Jackie Chan: My Life in Action (the action icon's official autobiography); Once Upon a Time in China; and, most recently, the seminal graphic novel collection Secret Identities: The Asian American Superhero Anthology. He began his career as founding editor and publisher of the pioneering Asian American periodical A. Magazine and as a cultural critic for New York's alternative weekly the Village Voice. He can frequently be heard as a contributor on NPR's Tell Me More, PRI's The Takeaway, and other public radio programs. He, his wife Heather and his sons Hudson and Skyler live in Brooklyn, New York. He writes a column for the Wall Street Journal online called Tao Jones.
About Museum of Chinese in America (MOCA)
MOCA's mission is to celebrate the living history of the Chinese experience in America, to inspire our diverse communities to contribute to America's evolving cultural narrative and civil society, and to empower and bridge our communities across generations, ethnicities and geography through our dynamic stories.
MOCA is a nonprofit educational and cultural institution that presents the living history, heritage, culture and diverse experiences of Chinese Americans through exhibitions, educational services and public programs. It began in 1980 as the community-based New York Chinatown History Project founded by community and student activists led by historian John Kuo Wei Tchen and Charles Lai. It has since grown to encompass the stories and journeys of the many communities of Chinese America, both in the New York Metro area and across the U.S., including new immigrants and established multi-generation families.
Since late 2009, when MOCA moved into its new space, designed by Maya Lin and located at the crossroads of Soho and Chinatown, its exhibitions, programs and audiences have grown in size and scope. This was made possible by a unique public/private partnership between collaborative government efforts to rebuild Lower Manhattan in the aftermath of 9/11 and MOCA's growing community of donors led by its Board of Trustees. Currently, MOCA's family consists of its many visitors, members, scholars, artists, activists, and families with young children as well as a growing base of young professionals, business leaders and entrepreneurs. For more info and upcoming events, please visit www.mocanyc.org.
The Museum of Chinese in America
215 Centre Street New York, NY 10013
(212) 619-4785